reznikolai | I N B O X

[ inej, indeed, sends nikolai's regards by nudging kaz with her foot on the couch and showing him said text message. and also the invitation to come over to see the new house.

the response is not worth putting into a text, as it consists of (1) "do whatever you want" and (2) some grumbling that may include "formalities" and "you woke me up for this?"

someone is grumpy post-nap, incidentally. ]

With or without Mr. Brekker?

[ no one is delighted to receive kaz. she has zero illusions about her choice in life partner, thank you. ]

You may need to upgrade to an even larger house, if that dog continues to grow. [ but it warms her, to see alina happy. she deserves it. ] Has anything else happened? Save the usual chaos of this place.

[ it's a fairly blatant dig for information, but inej knows nikolai isn't stupid. and besides, she's unabashedly ignored this place for at least a month in favor of painting a living room and buying houseplants. ]

Mr. Brekker is welcome too. If ever the notion to be sociable strikes him.

A bigger house! He already has a whole room to himself. I'm afraid he's spoiled beyond reproach.

[Which bodes well for Nikolai's future parenting endeavors. Hmm. But that's not something he cares to think about at the moment, nor is it something Inej likely cares to hear about.]

Broad questions earn broad answers, Captain. I've devoted much of the past month to practicing the art of driving and setting up my new workshop in the garage. I've drawn up plans for a small airship, but I have a few more materials to gather before I can start building.

[ well. she hadn't been expecting those answers, but they do set her at ease a little. mostly in that nothing worth worrying about happened, save for nikolai lantsov apparently learning how to drive.

( inej might have considered learning, after watching the cars roll by. but after examining one herself, the logistics of figuring out how to both control the pedals while also seeing where she was going seemed to be not worth it. being short makes for a good spider; not so much for learning how to drive.

also, who gives a dog their own room? ]

I'm sure Kaz would love to attend a dinner party.

[ that's what kaz gets for being rude; an invitation to a rich boy's house with a room set aside for a dog. ]

I'm afraid the two of us haven't been so productive.
At least not in terms of building airships.

[ or, well. they have. but productivity differs depending on the need, she supposes. she had thought she would be driven mad, by boredom. or lack of purpose. but she's actually found it quite nice, to just . . . be.

she and kaz never really got that opportunity, at home. ]

[Look...Ponchik has so many toys at this point, it's a matter of practicality to set aside a whole room for him.]

What about entertaining us with his singing voice after dinner?

Well, there is more than one way to be productive.

[Is this a subtle wink and nudge sort of thing? Possibly.]

[ inej is a pious girl, and a generally above board one at that. save for the occasional (mostly well-deserved) murder, she's positively saintly, in comparison to her cohort. but the second sentence causes her to narrow her eyes slightly, almost squinting at her screen. reading between the lines.

or maybe she's just being overly sensitive. -- but, then again, the barrel has taught her every wink-and-nudge in the book. most of them not very clever.

so: ]

Correct.
Sharpening my knives takes up most of my day.

[ THEY DON'T SPEND THEIR DAY DOING ANYTHING BUT WATERING PLANTS, NIKOLAI. ]

And I don't think Kaz is capable of singing.
I think he's inhaled the fumes of too many burned hopes and dreams.

[ or, you know. the plague.
whatever. ]

[It could be a totally innocent comment! No need to jump to conclusions!]

How dedicated you are to the upkeep of your arms! An admirable quality in a budding sea captain.

Then he should take greater care not to leave his hopes and dreams on the stove for too long.

Old habits.

[ this place seems to be as safe as can be, in comparison to ketterdam, but you never know who might be lurking in the dark. ]

And who said I was talking about his own hopes and dreams?
Those are still alive.

[ whatever they may be. ]

I suppose a man can hardly claw his way to the top of the food chain without SOMETHING driving him. Hope, dreams. Pride, spite.

A really excellent cup of coffee.

[ actually . . . not too far off. in terms of spite and coffee. kaz truly cannot function in the morning without coffee, and there was an unspoken rule in the slat to not disturb dirtyhands before eleven bells. inej was the only one who could chance it before then, and even she would be met with fury before half past nine.

(fury against inej, naturally, is defined very differently than fury against literally anyone else. but even she has had a slammed door in her face. the useless infantile punk that kaz can be first thing in the morning.)

nikolai, of course, is going to get none of that. but: ]

Coffee and spite drives most people in the Barrel.
And a good waffle.

[ their first home purchase might have been a waffle maker, in this place.
it is already well used. ]

You also forgot luck.

Replace "coffee" with "expensive brandy" and you might be talking about high society.

I never forget luck. 😏 I have an extraordinary amount of it. Even I'm shocked that I haven't run out yet.

[ part of her wants to make a snippy remark that being the king of ravka surely helps, but she doesn't. for one, that's not a nice thing to say. and for two, she should be trying to be nice.

alina sees something worth protecting in nikolai lantsov. that has to mean something. ]

Is that what you think you look like?
😏 😏 😏

[ okay, maybe a little teasing in return. ]

Its fair to say I have rather more hair.

Unfortunate that these little pictures that do have hair don't carry the same level of arrogance.

👱‍♂️

Not the same effect.

Your phone seems to have misspelled "charm."

Likewise, the woman depicted here could hardly make men fear for their lives. 👩🏽🗡🗡🗡

[ oh. so there is a knife emote. interesting.

inej may or may not be saving it for future reference.]

That's because you left out several knives.

🗡🗡🗡👩🏽🗡🗡🗡

I carry at least six at any given time.

I'll make a note.

And is that the serene smile you carry as you go about your work?

I only use that expression for the ones I tar and feather.
The rest never see my face.

[ :) ]

I do admire your sense for drama, Captain.

Learned from the best.

[ there is literally no one, not a soul, that is more of a dramatic bitch than kaz brekker. ]

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sees a typo...gonna kms

i did not see it so therefore it does not exist ok

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